A Christian learning an art form that is identified by the Hindu teachings it portrays? Why not? — that was the question bharathnatyam dancer and performer Rajesh Khanna asked those who tried to dissuade him from learning the dance form.
Performing for the last two decades and successfully running a dance school Natanalaya with 39 branches across the city, Khanna now wants to present his own example at a bigger level. With a strong belief that Bharathanatyam or any art form shouldn’t be bound by the restrictions of religion, age or gender, Khanna is planning to holler the message across on May 1 by gathering 3,000 of his students in a Guinness record attempt dance performance.
It was not just the religion that seemed to be a hindrance, but also the gender that was a stumbling block for the artiste, who followed in his mother’s footsteps. Many said that he might subconsciously adapt features of a woman. But Rajesh refuted all these theories and stuck to his passion for dance. “All that society believes in is just a myth. I want to break these wrong thoughts,” he says.
May 1 would see a horde of kids as young as three and adults as old as 73 perform at the VGP Resorts beach, ECR. The participants will also include transgenders and physically disabled, reveals Swarnalakshmi, a student of Rajesh. “In this performance, nearly 1,000 are men and there are also dancers from different religions,” says Rajesh.
“There is a general mindset that bharathnatyam dance belongs to a certain community and caste. It is not so. Art does not belong to any caste or community, it is for all. I want everyone to embrace it — be it Hindus or Christians,” says Rajesh, who also takes free dance classes over the weekends.
Nattanalaya students have been practising for the event since a year now. Rajesh says that a trailer of the forthcoming event was already presented in Valluvar Kotam on May 1 last year with a lesser group.
While there have been similar attempts of mass dance performances previously — 1,000 dancers from several units had gathered to perform on one single platform in Thanjavur and 5,000 kuchipudi dancers under several gurus had come together to perform in Hyderabad — this is the first time a collation of so many students under one master would be seen.
P Rajesh Khanna’s World Guinness Record 2014 attempt will take place at VGP Resorts beach, ECR, on May 1 at 10 am.